- If you order from multiple signings at once, your books will be shipped when the last signing ends. If you want your books to ship as they are released, please order them separately and pay appropriate shipping.

- Please double check to be sure you are ordering the correct book. Once the signing has ended and an order has been placed with the bookstore, we cannot change your order.

- We cannot be expected to notice if you accidentally order twice. If you think you have ordered but aren't sure, feel free to email us and we will check for you. Refunds will NOT be issued if you notice after the refund deadline has passed.

- Books will be signed around the author's schedule, therefore, we cannot *always* ship your order the day the book releases. This is a fluid process that will vary from signing to signing.

April 25, 2012

Review & Giveaway : On the Island By Tracey Garvis Graves

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day. T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends. Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

My Review

Have you ever picked up a book that by time you finish it, it leaves you like "Wow"? I know a book is good when I finish reading it and I'm still thinking about it days after. That's what On the island did to me. This book consumed me! So much that I read it in less than one day. Now that's a record for me. I just could not stop reading until I was done. And when I was done, I wish I could continue reading the story. I didn't want it to end.

When Damaris first gave me this book to review, I was extremely hesitant. But only because T.J. had cancer. Reading books with characters going through cancer is something that hits to close to home. So I hardly ever pick one up. But when I did pick it up, I couldn't put the book down at all. I read it everywhere I went. That's how good this story is. You become an eyewitness to the obstacles Anna and T.J. go through in this story. And you can see how their relationship blossomed. There was nothing ugly or malicious about their relationship. They both grew stronger as individuals and as a couple in the island. On the Island is beautiful love story that took my breath away.

If you're someone that can put aside the difference of age between the two characters, You will love this book. It is like "Survivor" but with only two contestants and a sweet romance twist to it. I give this book a huge 5 stars. A definite Good (Great) Choice for Reading. This is definitely one of my favorite books of this year.

Giveaway:
Ms. Tracey would love to do a giveaway here. There will be two winners. The first place winner will get an autograph paperback of On the island and the second place winner will get an ebook.
Here are the rules:1. Leave a meaningful comment below along with your email address on this post.2. Feel free to ask Ms. Tracey a question, she'll love to hear from you.

This book sounds amazing. I would absolutely love to read it. It sounds very adventurous and heartwarming. I love books about couples falling in love. I'm always looking for new books to read. Even if I don't win a copy I would still go out to buy it. It has definitely captured my attention. Thank you for offering readers the chance to win a copy of your book. It means a lot when authors do things like that. smiley317537@yahoo.com

I do love island survivor type stories and I love that there is a romance to go along with it. I am eager to see how the age difference plays out during their time there. Great review! This definitely sounds like a book I would enjoy! :)

A friend told me to read this book and so I downloaded it onto my kindle and read it in one day! One of the best books I have ever read! And for a new author Tracey did Superb!! I cant wait for another book to come out! :D

Ok - I was going to comment on this line 'a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day.' I have worked in libraries for almost 20 years so I was going to say something about libraries being a great place to work. Then I read further and found out what this book is about and added it to my TBR list. This story sounds great and I can't wait to read it! Thanks for the chance to win a copy.

And Tracey - have you ever vacationed (working or not) on a tropical island? And if so, where? Thanks!

This sounds like it has so much to love in it! A young man who has faced his mortality head on with his cancer and having to do it again on the island, survival among the elements for both characters, a grown woman having to keep it together for both of them....I am interested to see how the relationship develops. Thanks for the giveaway!

Your book had me trying to hide my tears on a cross country flight and I never cry?!? Love happily ever afters, thanks for writing a wonderful story and letting me lose myself in it. johnjgroganii@yahoo.com

This definitely sounds like a book I would like to read. It poses some interesting issues, more than just the usual paranormal romantic type. I guess the question I have for Traceyis if she has had any personal connection, for lack of a better word, with someone who had cancer. That element really adds to the dangerous elements of the story. Of course I would love to win this book but I will buy it if I don't!

My brother's best friend died of colon cancer about 4 years ago and it was especially devastating because he left behind a wife and two-year-old son. Other than that I really don't have a lot of personal experience with cancer; I definitely had to do my research to learn all I could about Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

I have to admit that I was leery about purchasing a book about a 16 year old boy and a 30 year old woman beginning a relationship on deserted island. I didn't know if it would creep me out too much to finish it. But I bought it and I LOVED IT!! I loved the characters, the dialogue, and your description of the island made me feel like I was right there with them fighting off the bugs and starving. It was a wonderful book and I can't wait until your new book comes out this fall.

Oh! It sounds like an adult version of Island of the Blue Dolphins, with added tension! Now I really, really want to read this. I wonder- what was the inspiration, especially for the age differences and the cancer threat? It would be a difficult enough thing on its own, without those added complications....Thanks for sharing this find with us, and for the giveaway!

The inspiration, or maybe I should say the challenge for the book, was to place two people who really *shouldn't* be together in a survival situation and then sit back and see what unfolded. I knew if I could make the readers fall in love with the characters, they'd be more accepting of anything that happened between them.

I knew T.J.'s battle with cancer would mature him a bit faster than his peers and give him a stronger will to live. The cancer threat added some tension because the possibility that he would suffer a relapse while on the island definitely existed.

Tracey, I think you did an amazing job with your story. Not only did you challenge your characters by being stranded in an island but the fear of T.J's cancer returning was even more intense. You also took your time before throwing them together. You made us love them as individuals before you made us fall in love with them as a couple. A job perfectly done.

I'm curious about the tense (present or past?) and POV (third or first with only one or both characters?) of this book. I wonder which combination of tense and POV would make me most sympathetic to the characters. Of course, I'm wondering if they'll get off the island and if T.J.'s cancer returns. (extemter at hotmail dot com)

Question.. I search for the book in my local Library catalog and was bummed to find out they did not have it? Will they be getting copies? Or is this a question to direct towards them? Thanks :) Can't wait to read it!lzamudio02 @ hotmail .com

Since Tracey is a indie author, you must likely won't find it there unless she donates a book to that library. Your best bet is probably buying a kindle version for 2.99 if you have kindle. But wait till this contest is over. You never know, you might win it here.

Loved your review. It is a bittersweet thing here. Your review made me want to read it more. I don't know why, can't describe it. I don't think you could help not to it's a lonely life just the two of you.delivery.RN at gmail dot com

The book sounds really interesting. It is definitely something that I would love to read. Very nice review!

I've yet to read a book where one of the main characters has cancer, which is something that I'm familiar with not just because a couple of my family members have passed due to cancer but because I had skin cancer, albeit a treatable form. So I'm curious about this story and how it plays out.

I read this book a few months back...and I read it in like 12 hours....I could NOT put it down. I think Tracey is a genius and I'm so excited for her next book! If I won an autographed copy I would seriously display it on my shelf in the living room...that's how proud I would be! I love this book!

I am always looking for my next favorite book to talk about with my friends. THIS is my new favorite book! On the Island is an amazing story of how two people bond when they are put in the most difficult situation of their lives. The whole time I was reading I tried to put myself in their shoes. It was such an emotional read for me. It doesn't even matter what type of relationship they formed while they were stranded. If it were me I could not go on with my life without having the other person in it as either a lover, best friend, or brother. When you go through something like that it changes you forever. The only person that could possibly relate to you is the one you experienced it with. That is Anna and T.J. They are two genuinely GOOD people, and Tracey does a wonderful job of making them seem so real.

Tracey, thank you for a phenomenal read! What inspired you to write about a couple with such an age difference?

To answer your question, I wanted to write a book that would put two main characters into extreme survival situations, and I knew the pairing needed to be both compelling and interesting. Putting two people on an island that really *shouldn't* be together - and watching what unfolded - was a challenge too intriguing to pass up. I also thought if I could make the reader identify and sympathize with the main characters, they'd be more likely to support whatever happened between them.

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